Unemployment....Has It Hit You Yet?

For the complete article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081211/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

The last I had heard, the unemployment rate in Michigan was 9.3%, nationally it was about 6.5%. Basically, one person out of 10 has filed for unemployment benefits in Michigan. This does not include people who have used all their benefits or who don't qualify.

The unemployment rate only reflects NEW CLAIMS - not the ongoing ones. When you think about it, this means that it's closer to 2 out of 10 people are unemployed. Because of this the homeless rate is going up, the Gross Product is going down, and the consumer is even more strapped for cash.

Has it hit you yet? Are you working? Have you suddenly started clipping coupons? Do you go through the sales ads and only buy something that you need if it's on sale? Are your kids moving back home?

My Predictions:

1)The 'Bail Out' of the financial institutions will be a disaster. (Hasn't helped yet)

2)Bailing out the Big Three automakers an even worse crime against the taxpayers.

3)State taxes will increase to pay for all the entitlements (I really hate that word....).

4)Sales tax will have to be increased at some point.

5)Property taxes will increase and property values will drop like a stone. (oh wait, that's already happened!)

6)More of your friends and family will lose their homes, their jobs, their independence and their health will suffer.

7)President-elect Obama will fail to make good on any promises he made.

If you only knew how badly I want to be wrong. But I'm not.

Ciao

clipped from news.yahoo.com New unemployment claims surge unexpectedly The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.